Antique Image of the Day: King Edward VII on His Way to Open Parliament, 1901

As I’ve mentioned before, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were keen fanciers of photography. So, their children grew up familiar with the concept of photographs and having been the subject of dozens of photos. By the time King Edward VII ascended the throne, he probably thought nothing of photography since it was already a well-established art form.

Edward VII was the first monarch whose reign was entirely captured by photographers. His mother, Queen Victoria, hadn’t been photographed until she was firmly established in her reign. Because of this, important moments in the Edwardian era are forever preserved.

Procession of King Edward VII Past Westminster Abbey to
Open Parliament
S.J. Beckett, 1902
The Victoria & Albert Museum

For example, here is an image by S.J. Beckett of the state procession which took King Edward VII to open Parliament for the first time—months before his coronation and only shortly after his mother died.

We can see the procession—grand and glorious—as it passes Westminster Abbey en route to the Palace of Westminster. This is a site that’s all too familiar to many a Briton. The path has not changed much in the past one hundred ten years.